Attorney General William Barr recently released a memo discussing the importance of preserving Civil Rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. As he has said, the Constitution is not suspended during a crisis.

I believe that includes our First Amendment right to peaceably assemble, to petition our government for redress of grievance, the right to practice religion and the right not to be denied our liberty or property without due process of law.

I want to encourage you to read Attorney General Barr’s memo, which can be viewed here.

Additionally, you can file a complaint with The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice if you believe that recent actions by state and local entities are violating the Constitution.

And I want you to know that our office will assist you in any way we can to assure your complaint gets the attention it deserves.

To be fair... there is a legitimate point here. One of the things that surprised me and got me to immediately fall in love with France was that, compared to the US, your right to act stupidly and kill yourself is preserved. As an alpinist, I found that important. The difference is, of course, that France tends to be more restrictive about your right to act stupidly and kill your elderly neighbor.

After being closed for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic, Yosemite National Park is ready to reopen as soon as next Wednesday or Thursday, but the plan hinges on state health officials granting approval for campsites and hotels to reopen in the surrounding communities to handle many of the overnight visitors.

Note, the letter is not a request from park officials to the state, but from local tourism bureaus etc.

But here's where we get to f### it mode

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Already, they say, crowds have arrived since Easter on sunny weekends, and with few places to stay, have camped illegally, left trash and even caused several small fires in counties around Yosemite. “We need to get campgrounds open and we need to get our hotels running so that when the park opens we can handle it. The people are coming anyway,” said Kevin Cann, chairman of the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors.

Basically, this is a PR war that the local counties are waging to get lodging open. This is in part a response to the state very quietly moving the goalposts. When Newsom announced we were moving to Stage 2, he included lodging for leisure travel in Stage 3. Just recently they changed Stage 3 to allow

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Travel for permissible activities, such as healthcare, food, stages 1-3 work, and local or activities shopping related to open sectors.

They pushed general travel for tourism out to Stage 4, concurrent with stadium events.

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Stage 4: End of stay at home orderGradually open larger gathering venues at a pace consistent with public health and safety, such as nightclubs, concert venues, and live audience sports.

Gradually resume remaining activities and travel.

At that point, the tourism bureaus all freaked out. That could essentially mean all lodging in CA closed until there is a vaccine, so at least late 2021, but who knows. A vaccine or herd immunity could take years.